All-cast dipper



March 1, 1960 Filed Sept. 16 1957 P. v. LARSEN ET AL 2,926,800

ALL-CAST DIPPER 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 i I] 26 A E W NVENTORS "i 8} *MATTORNEYS.

March 1950 P. v. LARSEN ETAL ,9

J m gixgiz BVMJW j ATTORNEYS March 1, 1960 P. v. LARSEN ET AL 2,926,800

ALL-CAST DIPPER 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. 16 1957 lNVE'NTO/PS:

' ATTORNEYS.

United States PatentO ALL-CAST DIPPER Paul V. Larsen and Elmer L.Larson, Portland, Oreg.,

assignors to Electric Steel Foundry Company, Portland, reg., acorporation of Oregon This invention relates to an all cast dipper andmethod of forming the same. The invention is particularly. useful in theforming of a power shovel dipper.

Power shovel dippers, because of their huge size and weight and becauseof their heavy use and wear resulting in shortened life of the dipper,have long presented a problem. If parts of the structure could be formedin separate castings and then readily united in a durable dipperstructure, great expense would be saved and the cost ofthe dipper couldbe substantially reduced. Castings have heretofore been formed with lapjoints which are then riveted or lap-welded, but such procedurerequiresthat the castings meet close specifications and have very littlevariations. Butt-welding procedures have not been followed'aud have notbeen considered feasible 'because of the stresses imposed upon thedipper, the stresses being in different directions in the operation of,the tool; and because of other difficulties having to do with thepre-arranging of the pants for welding, etc.

We have discovered that an all cast dipper can be formed in a veryinexpensive manner while employing butt-welding and while at the sametime providing a completed structure which is buttressed against thestresses operating in different directions so as to form an etfeotive'dipper tool. By the new method, a dipper can be formed from east partswhich allow great variation in the parts while at the same time enablingassembly and union to be effected with a minimum of labor and in amodicum of time.

An object of the present invention is to provide an allcast dipperformed of different parts equipped with companion means for uniting themreadily and maintaining them in proper position for butt-welding, thebutt-welding Patented Mar. 1, 1960 casting to the front casting; Fig. 3,a view similar to Fig. 7 showing the fit-up bolt removed; Fig. 9, abroken detail sectional view showing the side casting united to the lipcasting and providing V-recesses for receiving the welding metal; Fig.10, a view similar to Fig. 9, showing the welding metal in place; Fig.11, a view similar to Fig. 10, showing the removal of the tit-up bolt;and Fig. 12, a detail sectional view showing the connecting of thebail-ear to the back casting.

In the illustration given in Fig. 3, A designates a side casting, Bdesignates a lip casting equipped with the usual adapter and points, Cdesignates a front casting having a heel portion C, D designates a backcasting, and E designates a bail car which is to be connected to theside and back castings. The separate castings are united in one unitarydipper structure, as shown in Fig. l. A door F is mounted upon a pivot10 carried by the hinge members 11 forming a part of the back D. 1

in the practice of our invention, we form the separate castings withbeveled edge portions adapted to form, with beveled edge portions ofcompanion castings, a V-shaped recess adapted to receive the weldingmetal, and along such edge portions we form spaced ear lugs which areapertured to receive fit-up bolts for the attachment of the castings toeach other. By providing the edge portions of the ear lugs with bevelededges, we find that arcuate lines of welding are provided which enablethe being accomplished in such a manner as to provide a structure whichis eiiective against the unusual stresses from the many directions towhich a dipper is subjected. Another object is to provide a dipperstructure in which the parts are united by butt-welding along curved orarcuate lines which buttress the points of union against the heavystresses to which they are subjected. Yet another object is to provide amethod and means whereby cast parts may be readily brought together and,assembled with a minimum of labor so that butt-welding can thereafterunite the parts into a unitary dipper structure. jects and advantageswill appear as the specification proceeds.

,The invention is shown, in an illustrative embodiment, by theaccompanying drawings, in which:

, Figure l is a side view in elevation of an allcast dipper embodyingour invention; Fig. 2, a broken top view in elevation of the dipper;Fig.3, a side elevational view of the'component castings arranged inspaced-apart relation prior to their union; Fig. 4, a rear view inelevation; Fig. 5, a broken front view in elevation; Fig. 6, an enlargedbroken detail view showing the method of connecting the lip, front andside castings; Fig. 7, a broken detail sectional view showing the methodof connecting the lip Other specific obintegrated casting to withstandthe unusual stresses of a dipper. Further, we employ inclined lines ofbutt-welding between the important lip, front and side castings so as toprovide an unusually sturdy union between these 'parts efiective forwithstanding the unusual stresses to which the dipper is subjected,while at the same time providing for greater area in the lip casting andthe heel portion of the front casting where wear is the greatest.

Referring more specifically to Figs. 3 and 6, the lip casting Bisequipped at the side opposite the points 12 with a beveled edge 13merging with an ear lug 14. The ear lug 1 4 is provided with a fit-uphole 15.

The adjacent side A is provided with a beveled edge 16 and with threelugs 17, 18 and 19, each being provided with a tit-up hole 15. Each ofthe ear lugs 17, 1-8 and 19 is provided with a beveled edge about itscurved periphery:

which is a continuation of the beveled edge 16 ofthe casting.

The front casting C has a pair of ear lugs 20 and 21, the lug 20 matingwith the ear lug 19 of casting A, and the ear lug 21 mating with the earlug 18 of casting A: The ear lugs 20 and 21 also have fit-up holes 15.The upper edge portion of the front casting C is provided with a bevelededge 22 which forms a V-recess with the lower beveled side 13 of lipcasting B. A beveled edge 23 extends between the ear lugs 20 and 21 ofcasting C.

The ear lugs 14 of lip casting B and the ear lugs 20 and 21 of the frontcasting C also have beveled edges, but these beveled edges are not shownin the structure shown in Fig. 3. The edges are indicated by dottedlines in Fig. 6. The edge bevel 13 of casting B extending around the earlug 14 is shown clearly in Figs. 9, 10 and 11. Also illustrated in Figs.9, 10 and 11 is the fact that the ear lugs are formed along their innersides with fiat faces which lie against each other while at the sametime pro;

viding V-recesses 24 and 25 between the companion parts and into whichthe welding metal 26 is later placed.

Referring again to Fig. 3, each side casting A is probeveled edges 27and 30 of the companion castings! and D are curved along arcuate linestoward the bottom part of the two castings.

The bail ear E is preferably secured to the castings A and D by themethod shown best in Figs. 3 and 12. The back casting D is provided withan integral flange 34 provided with a beveled edge portion 35 spacedfrom a beveled edge portion 36 of leg 37 of the ear E. Similarly, a legportion 38 of the ear E is provided with a beveled edge 39 spaced fromthe beveled edge 40 of casting B. The B recesses thus formed are filledwith welding metal 26.

The lip casting B is provided along its front side with aforwardly-extending ear lug 41 having a beveled front face 42 and abeveled rear face 43. Similarly, the front casting is provided adjacentthe flange 41 with a flange 44 having a beveled face 45 at its front anda beveled edge '46 at its rear. The flanges 41 and 44 are provided withapertures through which extends a bolt 47. The V-recesses between theinclined faces described are filled with welding metal 26, as shown bestin Fig. 7.

Th back casting D may be provided with the usual pivot cars 48 and hingecars 11, and a door F of any suitable construction may be employed.

In the completed dipper structure shown in Fig. 1, the welding metal 25joining the castings A, B and C forms a substantially continuous curveextending downwardly from the top of casting B and to the bottom ofcasting A, with the curve extending inwardly at the top of the castingso as toincrease the length of the lip casting B and downwardly in adirection toward the casting C to thus limit or diminish the length ofcasting C and thence rearwardly so as to increase the depth of the "heelportion C. The curved line of union thus compensates for the areas ofgreatest wear while at the same time providing a union which iseffective against stresses in different directions. At the same time,the spaced ear lugs, by providing semicircular areas of welding metal,buttress the union against stresses from diiferent directions.Similarly, the welding metal 26 extending between the castings A and Dprovide curved areas of union which greatly strengthen the union againststresses from different directions. Further, the line of union of thewelding metal 26 between the bail ear E and the castings A and D followsarcuate or curved lines which take care of the angular stresses imposedupon the structure here. The ear lugs not only serve as a means forassembling the castings in the desired position for welding, but alsoprovide arcuate lines of weld which strengthen the union. Further, theear lugs may be used again when a part is worn and is-to be replaced.For example, the lip B may be removed by burning a line along the weldline and .a new lip may then be attached and butt-welded as described.

Operation In the operation of the process and structure, the castings Ato E, inclusive, are precast with beveled edges and with mating earlugs. The castings may then be brought together, even by a singleworkman, and secured, and thereafter the workman can butt-weld thestructure as indicated in the drawing to form an extremely strongunitary structure. By employing curved lines of weld and by interruptinglines of weld with spaced ear lugs which fO'IZIn arcuate weld segments,the structure is united for effective operation against all of thestresses to which a dipper is subjected. After the parts are broughttogether, bolts are placed through the fit-up holes and drawn to securethe parts in the desired relation for welding, and the welding is thenaccomplished. We prefer to employ electric automatic welding, but anysuitable welding mechanism may be used. .After the welds are complete,the bolts may be'removed.

With the structure shown, .it will be noted that the main portion of thefront casting C is of small area, while the wearable portion, namely,the heel, extends the farthest distance from the arcuate weld line 23.At the same time, the lip casting B has a large area and considerablewear can take place before reaching the weld lines. The arcuate weldline, therefore, connecting the lip casting B, front casting C, and eachside casting A, is not only effective in providing a strong resistanceto torsional stresses from different directions, but also provides astructure in which the highly wearable portions are given the greatestarea for wear before reaching the weld line.

While in the foregoing specification the lip B and front C are separateparts connected by butt-weld so that the lip may be burned off thedipper through the butt-welds and replaced by butt-welding, ourinvention contemplates also the production of dippers with a lip andfront as a one-piece integral part, constructed as shown in the drawingsbut with the butt-weld between the lip and front omitted. With thestructure as shown in the drawings, the old lip, when worn, may beburned off through the butt-welding and a replaceable or new lipconnected to the front by buttwelding, as heretofore described.

With the foregoing structure, the castings can be cast with relativelywide variation in parts because the buttwelding permits substantialvariation, while at the same time the arcuate reinforcements placedthroughout the dipper structure give the necessary strength. Asa-result, the dipper can be formed at much less expense and "the partsunited into a unitary structure of great strength meeting the demandsofa power shovel dipper, etc.

While, in the foregoing specification, we have set forth specificprocedure and structure in considerable detail for the purpose ofillustrating an embodiment of the invention, it will be understood thatwide variation of such details may be made by those skiled in the artwith out departing from the spirit of our invention.

We claim:

1. A dipper, comprising a cast front, lip, side and back, each castinghaving edge portions forming a continuous edge recess with a companioncasting for forming a welding metal recess therebetween, ear lugsprojecting laterally from each casting and overlapping mating ear lugson the companion casting, each ear lug having its outer edge portionbeveled to form a weld recess between it and the adjacent portion of thecompanion casting, said lugs having alignable fit-up holes, boltsextending through said lit-up holes and aligning said lugs so that thecastings are provided between them with a continuous recess for weldingmetal, said welding metal recesses being provided on each side of thecastings to provide continuous lines of weld and in which the weld lineabout the laterally-extending lugs on one side of the casting extends inthe opposite direction from the arcuate weld line about thelaterally-extending lugs at the opposite side of the casting, andwelding metal in a continuous line filling the weld recesses between thecastings and about said laterally-extending lugs.

2. A dipper, comprising at least two castings having edge portionsforming a continuous edge recess with a companion casting for receivingwelding metal therebetween and on each side of said castings, ear lugsprojecting laterally from each casting and overlapping mating ear lugson the companion casting, each ear lug having its outer edge spaced fromthe companion casting to form a weld recess therebetween, said lugshaving alignable fit-up holes adapted to receive bolts for uniting thecastings and aligning them for receiving the welding metal, the Weldrecesses about the lugs on one side of the castings extending in theopposite direction to the weld recesses about the lugs onthe oppositeside of the castings, and welding metal in a continuous line filling theweld recesses betweenthe castings and about the laterally extendinglugs.

,3. In a dipper having cast portions brought together in edge-to-edgerelation to form therebetween continuous weld recesses, lugs carried bysaid adjacent castings and projecting laterally into overlappingrelation, said lugs being apertured to receive bolts for uniting andaligning said castings, said lugs being spaced from the companioncastings to provide therebetween weld recesses which communicate withthe weld recesses between the castings, and welding metal in acontinuous line filling the weld recesses between the castings and aboutthe laterallyextending lugs, the weld portions about thelater-allyextending lugs on oneside of said castings extending in anopposite direction to the weld recesses about the lugs on the oppositeside of the castings.

4. A dipper, comprising at least two adjacent castings having edgeportions brought together to form therebetween a continuous curvedwelding metal recess merging at intervals with arcuate weld recesses,=said arcuate weld recesses being formed by ear lugs carried by thecompanion castings and extending in overlapping relation, the ear lugshaving their outer edge portion beveled to form said arcuate recessesbetween them and the adjacent portion of the companion casting, said earlugs being provided with fit-up holes adapted to receive bolts foraligning said lugs and said weld recesses, and welding metal in acontinuous line filling the weld recesses between the castings and aboutsaid laterally-extending lugs.

5. The structure of claim 4 in which the weld recesses are provided onopposite sides of said castings and said arcuate weld recesses on theone side of said castings extend in opposite directions to the arcuaterecesses on the opposite side of the castings.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED'STATES PATENTS

